A goal-line error by youngster Matt McDonough that gave up a goal to the Cats proved crucial in a game decided by only five points in front of a crowd of just 34,377 in wet and cold conditions at the MCG on Sunday.

“There are encouraging signs but it’s still a loss. We have put ourselves in this situation we don’t want to be in," Hardwick said..

“It’s disappointing but you can’t give a side a five goals to love head start – you are always going to be chasing your tail. You commend the effort but the result is still a loss.”

Former Richmond captain Chris Newman went off with a calf injury in the last quarter and Hardwick said he would probably be sidelined for at least several weeks.

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Richmond gave Geelong what proved to be an insurmountable lead when it fell 35 points down midway through the second term. It took until 22 minutes into that quarter for the Tigers to kick their first goal, after which they outscored Geelong by 12 goals to six, but the Cats had far more scoring shots for the day.

“I thought our intent and effort was good, we just made critical errors ... a goal-line error from Matty McDonough; he will learn from that. He is a young bloke and you can see he is going to be a beauty,” Hardwick said.

“But we just made critical errors and turned the ball over.’’

In their first games back after injury, Alex Rance and Brett Deledio were among the Tigers’ best, while Shaun Hampson dominated in the ruck.

Richmond played with more determination to take the game on but Hardwick said the instruction had not changed week to week – the only difference was personnel.

“The players knew we wanted to attack the game,’’ he said. ‘‘Nothing has changed there, but you see what the addition of Deledio and Rance makes.’’

Richmond will enter the bye with improved form despite the loss and must now confront a Melbourne side on equal win-loss terms after its surprise victory at the weekend.

The Tigers play Melbourne, Greater Western Sydney away, and Essendon in the games after the break.

Geelong has Fremantle away, North Melbourne and Sydney after the bye.

Geelong coach Chris Scott said he felt his team always had the run of the game, even when Richmond edged to within six points early in the last quarter.

“It felt to us we had control of the game, but we just could not finish them off,” he said.

Scott said he was disappointed to drop a game in the first seven but was otherwise relatively content with the start of the season.

“We are a long way from playing our best footy, but we are six and one. We are pretty content we are in a good spot, but we need to improve.

“I would prefer we were seven zip, because I think we should win every game if we play our best.”

In wet conditions the sliding rule was not rigorously enforced, which Scott said was reasonable in the conditions, but queried a decision given against Geelong ruckman Mark Blicavs.

He said he also welcomed the suggestion by new AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan that he would consult coaches, among others, about what the AFL could do to improve the aesthetics of the game. “It’s a really noble thing to make sure every decision has the spectators and fans first and foremost,” he said.